Crickets touchdown in US

In the town of Lauderhill,Florida,the buzz is all about a game of cricket. For the first time ever,an international cricket match or in this case a series will be played in the United States of America when New Zealand take on Sri Lanka in the Pearls Cup,which consists of two T20 matches,on Saturday and Sunday.

While a few exhibition matches have been played in the country before,never has there been a match commissioned by the International Cricket Council ICC.

For Daniel Vettori,captain of the New Zealand cricket team,the change in scenario has been a refreshing one. Away from the usual media glare that follows Vettori and his men in cricket-crazy nations,the Kiwi skipper is excited at the prospect of introducing cricket to the Americans for whom the game is still an alien sport.

Ive been to the US on a few occasions before,for a few holidays with the family. Weve never played a cricket match here,so its exciting. Its a great place to be playing cricket and hopefully the game will find a niche for itself in the US market, Vettori says,while speaking to The Indian Express over the phone.

Despite the packed schedule,Vettori amp; Co are excited at the prospect of playing on foreign shores. Weve been hoping for this to happen for a while and it is a privilege that we,along with Sri Lanka,will be the first teams to play an international in USA. Its been in the pipeline for a while and Im glad its happened, the Kiwi skipper adds,after his practice session.

So what has the Florida experience been like? Exciting. Most of the lads havent been to the States before,so the energy levels are high. Weve been getting a hang of the place and its culture,while most of the boys have been busy trying their hand at baseball. It feels a lot like the Caribbean,where we just finished playing in the World T20 Championships, Vettori says,adding,We went for a few of the Florida Marlins matches and met some of the players. The interactions have been fun.

Vettori believes that the shortest format of the game is the best way to popularise the sport in America. This format is the right one to promote the sport over here. Maybe well infiltrate the US market sometime in the future and create our own niche with the audience. Hopefully,well get to play a few more matches in the future, he says.

Whether Magic and Marlins can hold their own away is yet to be seen,but for crickets away game,the realisation of the great American dream has just begun in Florida.